Saturday, July 15, 2006

The shelling is getting closer

I registered with the French embassy as a resident of Paris today and then decided to go for lunch and a coffee. As I was having a beer (instead of a coffee), my friends and I heard an explosion that sounded louder and closer than they have so far. It turns out that the Israelis have bombed Beirut's main port and the neighborhood of al Manara, which is on the coast and about a ten minute walk from my place here.

The ports of Jounieh, Jbeil (Byblos) and Tripoli (all north of Beirut) were also hit. As I write, all of these places are being hit again. The Israelis are not really discriminating based on sect; they are bombing all of Lebanon's infrastructure, making good on their promise to set Lebanon back 20 years.

Balbaak was also hit. The house of a leader in Hizbollah was hit, but it's unclear if he was harmed or not.

The word out at all of the European embassies is that the European, American, Canadian, British and Australian embassies are going to start evacuating by boat to Cyprus starting on Monday. However, I'm not sure how we're supposed to board these boats if the Israelis keep bombing all the ports in the area.

A lot of people are still trying to leave by car, but the roads to Syria are very dangerous, because the Israelis are continually bombing them. Normally a taxi to Damascus costs about $15 or $20; yesterday, people were paying $200 to $300; and today, people are paying between $800 and $1,000 per person.

UPDATE: They just hit the port (or maybe Manara) again, and perhaps I'm just being paranoid, but I have the feeling that the Israelis are doing this to make it more difficult for Westerners to leave...

Saturday, July 15, 2006

The shelling is getting closer

I registered with the French embassy as a resident of Paris today and then decided to go for lunch and a coffee. As I was having a beer (instead of a coffee), my friends and I heard an explosion that sounded louder and closer than they have so far. It turns out that the Israelis have bombed Beirut's main port and the neighborhood of al Manara, which is on the coast and about a ten minute walk from my place here.

The ports of Jounieh, Jbeil (Byblos) and Tripoli (all north of Beirut) were also hit. As I write, all of these places are being hit again. The Israelis are not really discriminating based on sect; they are bombing all of Lebanon's infrastructure, making good on their promise to set Lebanon back 20 years.

Balbaak was also hit. The house of a leader in Hizbollah was hit, but it's unclear if he was harmed or not.

The word out at all of the European embassies is that the European, American, Canadian, British and Australian embassies are going to start evacuating by boat to Cyprus starting on Monday. However, I'm not sure how we're supposed to board these boats if the Israelis keep bombing all the ports in the area.

A lot of people are still trying to leave by car, but the roads to Syria are very dangerous, because the Israelis are continually bombing them. Normally a taxi to Damascus costs about $15 or $20; yesterday, people were paying $200 to $300; and today, people are paying between $800 and $1,000 per person.

UPDATE: They just hit the port (or maybe Manara) again, and perhaps I'm just being paranoid, but I have the feeling that the Israelis are doing this to make it more difficult for Westerners to leave...

Saturday, July 15, 2006

The shelling is getting closer

I registered with the French embassy as a resident of Paris today and then decided to go for lunch and a coffee. As I was having a beer (instead of a coffee), my friends and I heard an explosion that sounded louder and closer than they have so far. It turns out that the Israelis have bombed Beirut's main port and the neighborhood of al Manara, which is on the coast and about a ten minute walk from my place here.

The ports of Jounieh, Jbeil (Byblos) and Tripoli (all north of Beirut) were also hit. As I write, all of these places are being hit again. The Israelis are not really discriminating based on sect; they are bombing all of Lebanon's infrastructure, making good on their promise to set Lebanon back 20 years.

Balbaak was also hit. The house of a leader in Hizbollah was hit, but it's unclear if he was harmed or not.

The word out at all of the European embassies is that the European, American, Canadian, British and Australian embassies are going to start evacuating by boat to Cyprus starting on Monday. However, I'm not sure how we're supposed to board these boats if the Israelis keep bombing all the ports in the area.

A lot of people are still trying to leave by car, but the roads to Syria are very dangerous, because the Israelis are continually bombing them. Normally a taxi to Damascus costs about $15 or $20; yesterday, people were paying $200 to $300; and today, people are paying between $800 and $1,000 per person.

UPDATE: They just hit the port (or maybe Manara) again, and perhaps I'm just being paranoid, but I have the feeling that the Israelis are doing this to make it more difficult for Westerners to leave...

Saturday, July 15, 2006

The shelling is getting closer

I registered with the French embassy as a resident of Paris today and then decided to go for lunch and a coffee. As I was having a beer (instead of a coffee), my friends and I heard an explosion that sounded louder and closer than they have so far. It turns out that the Israelis have bombed Beirut's main port and the neighborhood of al Manara, which is on the coast and about a ten minute walk from my place here.

The ports of Jounieh, Jbeil (Byblos) and Tripoli (all north of Beirut) were also hit. As I write, all of these places are being hit again. The Israelis are not really discriminating based on sect; they are bombing all of Lebanon's infrastructure, making good on their promise to set Lebanon back 20 years.

Balbaak was also hit. The house of a leader in Hizbollah was hit, but it's unclear if he was harmed or not.

The word out at all of the European embassies is that the European, American, Canadian, British and Australian embassies are going to start evacuating by boat to Cyprus starting on Monday. However, I'm not sure how we're supposed to board these boats if the Israelis keep bombing all the ports in the area.

A lot of people are still trying to leave by car, but the roads to Syria are very dangerous, because the Israelis are continually bombing them. Normally a taxi to Damascus costs about $15 or $20; yesterday, people were paying $200 to $300; and today, people are paying between $800 and $1,000 per person.

UPDATE: They just hit the port (or maybe Manara) again, and perhaps I'm just being paranoid, but I have the feeling that the Israelis are doing this to make it more difficult for Westerners to leave...

Saturday, July 15, 2006

The shelling is getting closer

I registered with the French embassy as a resident of Paris today and then decided to go for lunch and a coffee. As I was having a beer (instead of a coffee), my friends and I heard an explosion that sounded louder and closer than they have so far. It turns out that the Israelis have bombed Beirut's main port and the neighborhood of al Manara, which is on the coast and about a ten minute walk from my place here.

The ports of Jounieh, Jbeil (Byblos) and Tripoli (all north of Beirut) were also hit. As I write, all of these places are being hit again. The Israelis are not really discriminating based on sect; they are bombing all of Lebanon's infrastructure, making good on their promise to set Lebanon back 20 years.

Balbaak was also hit. The house of a leader in Hizbollah was hit, but it's unclear if he was harmed or not.

The word out at all of the European embassies is that the European, American, Canadian, British and Australian embassies are going to start evacuating by boat to Cyprus starting on Monday. However, I'm not sure how we're supposed to board these boats if the Israelis keep bombing all the ports in the area.

A lot of people are still trying to leave by car, but the roads to Syria are very dangerous, because the Israelis are continually bombing them. Normally a taxi to Damascus costs about $15 or $20; yesterday, people were paying $200 to $300; and today, people are paying between $800 and $1,000 per person.

UPDATE: They just hit the port (or maybe Manara) again, and perhaps I'm just being paranoid, but I have the feeling that the Israelis are doing this to make it more difficult for Westerners to leave...

Saturday, July 15, 2006

The shelling is getting closer

I registered with the French embassy as a resident of Paris today and then decided to go for lunch and a coffee. As I was having a beer (instead of a coffee), my friends and I heard an explosion that sounded louder and closer than they have so far. It turns out that the Israelis have bombed Beirut's main port and the neighborhood of al Manara, which is on the coast and about a ten minute walk from my place here.

The ports of Jounieh, Jbeil (Byblos) and Tripoli (all north of Beirut) were also hit. As I write, all of these places are being hit again. The Israelis are not really discriminating based on sect; they are bombing all of Lebanon's infrastructure, making good on their promise to set Lebanon back 20 years.

Balbaak was also hit. The house of a leader in Hizbollah was hit, but it's unclear if he was harmed or not.

The word out at all of the European embassies is that the European, American, Canadian, British and Australian embassies are going to start evacuating by boat to Cyprus starting on Monday. However, I'm not sure how we're supposed to board these boats if the Israelis keep bombing all the ports in the area.

A lot of people are still trying to leave by car, but the roads to Syria are very dangerous, because the Israelis are continually bombing them. Normally a taxi to Damascus costs about $15 or $20; yesterday, people were paying $200 to $300; and today, people are paying between $800 and $1,000 per person.

UPDATE: They just hit the port (or maybe Manara) again, and perhaps I'm just being paranoid, but I have the feeling that the Israelis are doing this to make it more difficult for Westerners to leave...